Shop Talk: The ins and outs of Berkeley businesses

TART, BUT TASTYThe Rare Barrel, a new endeavor that plans to make hand-crafted sour beer aged in barrels, is coming to Berkeley, according to a posting on the group’s website (and first spotted by Diablo Magazine). The father and son brewing team of Brad and Jay Goodwin and sales and marketing director Alex Wallash will begin renovation of a warehouse at 940 Parker Street next week, with the aim of starting beer production in early 2013, according to Wallash. Sour beer is a beer whose “character profile has a tart and acidic flavor, sometimes fruity,” he said. While most hand-crafted beer is fermented in steel tanks and aged a couple of weeks to two months, The Rare Barrel will age its beer in oak barrels from six months to three years. The trio chose Berkeley because the cooling fogs that are pulled in through the Golden Gate create a perfect climate, according to an announcement on The Rare Barrel blog.

ALL ROADS LEAD TO ROME The Chronicle’s Inside Scoop has more details on the restaurant Lisa Holt and David Shapiro are opening in the old Pasand space at 2286 Shattuck (which prompted the landlord not to renew the lease of the Shattuck Down Low nightclub). It will be a Roman-style pizzeria called A90, referring to the road that circles Rome and the number of seconds it takes to cook a thin-crust pizza. The restaurant will be “something unique that has not been seen in the Northern California area at all,” Holt told Inside Scoop, and will let diners “be individual and creative about their food.” The chef will be Brian Langevin, a pizzaiolo trained by Tony Gemignani, the paper reports. [Update: The name has been changed to Build Pizzeria.]

CHANGING FASHIONS Sala, a hip clothing store run by Racheal Matthews and Dielly Diaz for three years at 1746 Shattuck Ave., shut its doors September 30, according to its Facebook page. Now the space seems to be morphing into Foxglove, another clothing store. There is still a nicely dressed mannequin surrounded by paint cans in the front window and a sign reads “Coming Soon, Foxglove. Happy Sunday Streets.”

Shop Talk is Berkeleyside’s regular column in which we post updates on Berkeley businesses — openings, closings, new directions, relaunches, relocations. If you’re a Berkeley business with news, or a Berkeleysider who has spotted a change in your neighborhood or on your travels, shoot us an email with the details. Read previous Shop Talk columns here.

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